Judge convicts former Collier deputy of DUI

Scott Anderson, who was a lieutenant with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, sits in court Wednesday during his trial on DUI and reckless driving charges. Anderson crashed into the back of another vehicle while on duty in his patrol car in February, authorities said.

Daily News

A Collier County judge convicted a former sheriff's lieutenant Wednesday of driving under the influence of prescription drugs during a rear-end crash that occurred while the deputy was on duty and in uniform.

Scott K. Anderson was sentenced to time served, amounting to 15 days in jail, and 12 months of probation. Judge Vince Murphy took about a half-hour to convict Anderson, who said he was fired by the Collier County Sheriff's Office after his arrest.

Anderson, 41, had no comment after the verdict, relying on his attorney's statement that he plans to appeal.

Anderson, a 24-year veteran of the Sheriff's Office, also has a related felony case pending that charges him with illegally obtaining prescription drugs from a physician.

He was under the influence of a prescription drug, hydrocodone, when he crashed into the back of a car driven by 42-year-old Paula Cresto Fesik at 11 a.m. Feb. 15 at Davis and Lakewood boulevards. He was driving his Agricultural Unit patrol truck.

Fesik testified Anderson rear-ended her as she was slowed behind traffic. She told the judge, who presided over the trial instead of a jury at Anderson's request, that the deputy appeared disoriented and confused after the crash. His speech was slurred, and he was sweaty and disheveled in his appearance.

"I was confused about who this person was, even though he was in uniform and driving a Collier County Sheriff's Office vehicle," Fesik testified.

Florida Highway Patrol Trooper David Krantz also testified Anderson appeared impaired and failed three field sobriety tests. Trooper Clarence Campbell testified Anderson repeatedly tried to step into the road at Lakewood Boulevard and nearly got hit by traffic.

Anderson was placed under arrest and taken to Naples Jail Center. He was given a breath-test, which gave a 0.0 percent reading for the presence of alcohol in his system. But he was nodding off and even had to be carried out of the breath-test room by two deputies, according to testimony.

The troopers requested medical assistance, and Anderson was taken to Naples Community Hospital. The emergency room doctor, Alberto De Le Riverraher, found him to be alert but with slurred speech, a sign Anderson was impaired by something.

A blood test by the hospital determined he had opiates in his system. A blood draw analyzed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement showed he had four different drugs in his system, including hydrocodone, an opiate-based painkiller.

In his closing arguments to the judge, defense attorney Donald Day argued the mere presence of those drugs in Anderson's system isn't enough to convict Anderson. The tests didn't show how much Anderson took of each drug, or when he took them. So the tests were unreliable to show they caused the crash.

"There is no evidence, especially no evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, that the impairment was caused by any of this medicine," Day argued.

But Assistant State Attorney Neil Snyder, who prosecuted the case, used his closing argument to recount the signs of impairment each witness described to the judge. And he tied the evidence of drug use by Anderson to the crash, including his statement to paramedics and family members that he had taken Ambien, which is a sleeping pill that would amplify the level of impairment the hydrocodone would cause.

After listening to the lawyers, Murphy reviewed several dozen pages of medical reports and returned his verdict of guilt quickly.

"The court finds the evidence of impairment is overwhelming and incontrovertible, in my mind," Murphy said.

The judge said the positive test for opiates in Anderson's system is comparable to a deputy detecting the odor of alcohol on a driver's breath. Both show evidence of consumption of a substance that had caused impairment.

The judge also sentenced Anderson to pay a $500 fine, have a 12-month drivers license revocation and complete 50 hours of community service. He also must undergo a substance abuse evaluation and follow any counseling recommendations from that.

Anderson faces unrelated charges of fleeing law enforcement and reckless driving. He was arrested in that case March 29, so Murphy revoked his bond on the DUI charge. Bond was later reset at $6,000, but Anderson spent 15 days in jail.

Day had said Anderson suffered from a chronic back injury that may have contributed to the cause of the crash. And Anderson was admitted to the psychiatric ward at Naples Community Hospital after the crash, according to testimony. A psychiatric condition may have caused that kind of impairment also, according to trial testimony.